Practicing for Parenthood
by Unproper Grammar
Summary: A series of short stories about Troy and Gabriella's first child: a golden retriever named Chester.


**Practicing for Parenthood**

_In Which It Wasn't a Good Idea_

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Looking back on it, deciding to install the doggy door early was his first mistake. Chester was less than two months old, and had only been with he and Gabriella for less than two weeks, so really they shouldn't have installed the door for at least a month, maybe even two. If he were to get out in those early days, whose to say if he would have come home or not. But everything about having Chester was exciting; from walking him to training him to playing with him. He was their friend, their companion, and though he'd never admit it, he was their baby.

So naturally the excitement got the best of him, and when Gabriella posed the idea that they should put such a mechanism in place in their humble, two story house, Troy had eagerly agreed and rushed the small family (again, he would never admit it, but. Gabriella, he, and Chester? They were a family) to the local PetsMart and purchased just the right door. Gabriella had fretted over which was the most safe, which was the most attractive, and which was the most expensive. In the end, they had let Chester decide (it was only fair), but he chose the one Gabriella didn't want. So they said that maybe he was too young to have such a big input, and picked the other one.

His second mistake was installing it when Gabriella wasn't home.

It wasn't because he needed her help or anything; he was more than capable of installing the door. It was that during the events that followed, he could really use her help. Here is why.

Gabriella had gone grocery shopping, and frankly, Troy was rather bored. He and Chester were playing fetch in the living room, but the dog wasn't having much of it. Apparently he decided that he was too smart for the game and chasing a tennis ball wasn't very appealing. There was nothing good on television, and he had already read today's paper back to front.

That's when he remembered the doggy door. What a perfect pass-time! He could get things done and Gabriella would be pleased. With those thoughts in mind, he grabbed his toolbox, grabbed the door from it's place by the backdoor, and went straight to work.

The installation itself had gone smoothly enough. He had cut the hole in the door and placed the door inside, before screwing it in place. Chester had run around excitedly as he did so, and Troy couldn't help but grin.

"You excited, buddy?" he asked, putting down the drill and scratching Chester behind the ears. The dog barked in reply, wagging his tail and generally looking like the most pleased canine on the planet. "I know, I'm excited, too. You'll have your very own door! Just like me and Mom!"

(It had been an almost unspoken conversation, really, that he and Gabriella would refer to themselves as Chester's parents, and call the other mom and dad. At first he felt slightly silly, but he figured eventually they'd be using the titles in reference to little human beings with their shared DNA, so he decided to get used to it.)

In total, the door only took about an hour to install, and when it was done, Troy stood up and placed his hands on his hips, pleased with himself. "Look at that, buddy!" he said proudly, "your very own doggie door!" Bending down, he scooped up his pup and held him close. "Do you wanna test it out?" Chester barked and licked his face, his tail wagging, and Troy took that as a yes.

Opening the door to the backyard, Troy stepped outside. He certainly didn't want to let Chester out on his own; what if he couldn't get back in and managed to escape the backyard in the point five seconds it would take Troy to open the actual door and get outside himself? So instead they would practice going inside.

Shutting the backdoor himself, Troy kneeled down and rubbed Chester's back, positioning him in front of the doggy door. 'Alright Chester, buddy," he said to the dog, "all you have to do is climb in through this flap, here, okay?" He pushed his hand through the flap in the door. "You ready to do this?" Chester let out a bark and Troy laughed. He had one smart dog.

Troy gave him a slight push forward and Chester scooted towards the door, sniffing at the flap curiously before prodding at it with his nose. He cocked his head to the side, blinking at it inquisitively before pushing at it with his nose. Then he took a step forward, and using his whole head and paws, broke through the flap and disappeared through the backdoor inside to the house.

Troy let out a whoop of excitement. "Good job, Chester!" he bent over and opened the flap, peering inside the house into the kitchen where the dog was currently sitting, wagging his tail. "Good work buddy! Now we'll practice a few more times and show Mom when she gets home, okay!"

Standing up, he turned the knob on the door and froze, dread spreading over him. In all of the excitement, he had forgotten that the backdoor locked automatically. So now he was locked out. His wife wasn't home. His puppy was inside alone.

This was a recipe for disaster.

Except...he looked down at the doogy door, evaluating it quickly. It was rather large, and Troy, though being muscular, still had a relatively smaller frame for a male. Maybe if he wiggled at just the right angle, he could get inside without any real fuss.

Settling down on the ground, he flipped open the flap again and carefully began to make manuver his way inside. One arm in the door, he tried then to fit his shoulders through. Wincing slightly, he moved to the left, then to the right, then shifted ever so slightly forward and ta-da! He was in!

Actually, he realized a moment later when he tried to move forward, he was stuck.

Damnit.

Hearing the scraping of puppy paws on the hardwood floors, Troy called out for Chester. His dog was smart! Maybe he could help get him out of this!

"Chester!" he shouted, "here boy! Come here boy!"

Chester barked excitedly and came bounding down the halls, skidding to a stop in front of Troy. He barked again, licking his owner's face affectionately and Troy sighed.

"You gotta help me, buddy!" he said to his dog, "I need you to go get the phone and call Mom!" It was a long stretch, but if Troy could somehow get Chester to successfully get the cordless phone from the kitchen counter, then he could dial Gabriella's cell number with his own tongue and maybe tell her to come home faster.

If that failed, he could call 911.

Chester barked and Troy sighed, trying again. "Go get the phone, boy!" he said, "go get the phone! The phone, Chester! Ring ring! Go get the phone!"

Letting out a bark, Chester turned around and bounded over to the other side of the kitchen and Troy felt his heart pick up speed. He had listened to him! He had actually listened to him! He was going to the get the phone and he would be able to call Gabriella and everything would be alright.

He heard Chester making his way over to him a moment later. "Good boy, Chester!" he as the dog made his way into his line of sight. "Good...boy."

Only instead of bringing the phone, Chester had brought his tennis ball. Dropping it in front of Troy, he nudged it towards him. Now he wanted to play fetch. Troy closed his eyes and counted to ten, before trying again.

"No, Chester, the phone! The phone, you want to get the phone! You know, that thing you are constantly interrupting Mom and I on! Go get the phone!"

Barking, Chester headed back into the kitchen and Troy wondered once more if Chester would bring back the phone. When he heard a splashing noise, he let out a sigh of disappointment, and then one of slight aggravation. Chester was pushing his water bowl across the room with his nose over to where Troy was. He moved it just until it stopped right beneath Troy's own nose. Troy looked up at him and Chester barked.

Apparently he wanted to share. Troy smiled at the sight. "Thanks, buddy," he said, "but that's your water. But thank you."

For a moment Chester looked sad, as if realizing the predicament his owner was in. He licked Troy's nose before coming to rest beside him, his little head nestled comfortably by Troy's chin. He smiled.

Deciding there was nothing better to do, Troy rested his cheek against Chester's fur and closed his eyes. There was really no better time for a nap.

"Troy?" he heard a soft voice say after what seemed like hours later. He looked up with a start and saw Gabriella kneeling there, Chester in her lap."What are you doing!"

Flushing, Troy did the first thing he could think of and bent over to kiss her knee quickly. "Hi, honey!" he said, "you're home! Did you get everything at the supermarket?"

Eventually, Troy got out, and neither the door nor the doggy door were harmed, but Troy had a purple bruise around his torso for the next two weeks. So yeah, looking back on it, it wasn't such a great idea.

Chester loved the doggy door, though, and Troy supposed that was what matter most.

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This is dedicated to my dear, lovely friend Julina. We have many conversations about puppies and wanting a certain favourite couple of ours to get one. She selected Chester from many pictures of puppies on the internet, so she should be thanked for bringing him to you all!

If you're curious as to what Chester looks like, you can take a gander here: http : / bit. ly /aQFPa1 I'll post a link on my profile, too, just in case!


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